Searching
by Rust Tea
Summary: The shy an unsociable Risiko has spent his entire life in Ecruteak City. At 18 years of age, his only friend decides to start her own journey, leaving Risiko a small gift that may change his view of the world outside Ecruteak.
1. Departure

**Chapter One: Departure**

"When are you going to start traveling, Risiko?" Risiko's red headed father asked him from behind an orange tea cup. He took a sip from the deep black tea as he studied his thin, dark haired son expectantly. The wild red color of the man's hair surrounded his face and spiked out from his head in an array of directions. The man's piercing blue eyes often made his son feel uneasy when two made eye contact. His crazy appearance had always made Risiko sigh with relief; the boy had not inherited much from his father in the manner of appearance.

"Your father has a point." Risiko turned to his mother, who was dressed in a flowing orange kimono, attire she had picked up from their next door neighbors. Her long black hair resembled Risiko's. Like Risiko's father, his mother's bright green eyes were also filled with expectation. "Most pokémon trainers start their journey at the age of ten. You're already eighteen and you've barely seen the outside of Ecruteak!"

As dazzling as his parent's eyes were, Risiko's eyes were a dull grey. For this he was thankful; the dullness of his eyes drew attention away from him. This was preferred, of course, since Risiko usually felt embarrassed when given attention. His mother's build hair seemed to dominate most of Risiko's genetics. He had inherited her dark hair, slight body frame, as well as her pale skin and short stature.

Risiko was not the outgoing person his father was. Whenever his father saw him, he would comment on the 'fire running through' Risiko. Risiko was a disappointment to his father with his lack of interest in training fire type pokémon.

"I can't go out to train without a pokémon to defend myself without a pokémon…" Risiko offered his comment lamely, his dull eyes focused on the floor. A small, fox-like pokémon wondered into Risiko's field of vision and sat down before him. The pokémon looked up at him with soft brown eyes and Risiko found that he could not look away from the tiny Vulpix.

Risiko's mother gracefully scooped the small fox-like creature in her arms and held her out to her son. "You have a pokémon, son."

Risiko shook his head, now locked with his mother's emerald gaze. "Mom, I don't…" He reluctantly turned away to look at his dad, his forehead creasing with worry. "Guys, I know I should have told you this sooner… Look, I know you want me to inherit the gym and all, but I'm just not as… Fire type pokémon aren't my thing."

Risiko's family had built a very small gym in Ecruteak City. Their gym was not even big enough or well known enough to offer a badge. Besides, that was Morty's job in Ecruteak with his ghost type gym in their city. However, Risiko's dad was quite fond of their small fire-type gym. He hoped that Risiko could inherit the place and put it on the map. Risiko had no such motivation.

Risiko's father gave a deep, hardy laugh at his son's response. "Is _that_ why you haven't left the city?" He slammed his tea cup onto the table in a fit of laughter.

Risiko's mother was clearly not as amused as his father was. Her gaze was sympathetic when she turned to her son. "You will grow to like them." She placed the Vulpix in Risiko's arms and turned away from him. "You will grow strong and make your father proud." She left the room of their 'gym' (which was really just part of their house), her wooden sandals clocking against our wood floor with her every step.

Risiko's father had ceased his laughter and returned to his tea by this time. Risiko gave an exasperated sigh and turned to make his own leave when his father's words stopped him. "Risiko," he called out to his son.

Risiko turned to his father wearily, hiding most of his gaze behind the long black bangs of his hair. "Yeah, Dad?"

"If you don't want to inherit the gym, what _do_ you want to do with your life?" His blue eyes now focused on the tea in his cup, which relaxed Risiko to a degree.

"I would like to…" Risiko's voice trailed off, as he knew his father would find a way to mock his answer. The red headed man turned his deep blue eyes to his son, and Risiko felt obligated to continue. "I want to write. I want to write novels about pokémon, and people, and fantasy worlds. I just want to create…"

The intent, listening gleam remained in his father's eyes as Risiko related his dreams to his father. Rather than mocking Risiko as he had before, he gave a thoughtful nod. Risiko brushed some of the hair away from his eyes to be sure he was reading the fire pokémon trainer correctly. Finally Risiko's father broke the silence. "Son, do you know what would bring you inspiration for your novels?"

"What, dad?" Risiko's tone was soft but eager, as he was very curious about his father's sudden change of heart.

"Some fire pokémon training experience!" Risiko's dad broke into another grin, but it disappeared as soon as Risiko's hope did. "Now listen, son. You can't write about what you don't know about. You have to get out of this city. You have to meet people, experience things. Just sitting here on that computer isn't going to get you any of that."

"So you want me to leave… To become inspired?" Risiko asked. He could feel a smile breaking across his face as joy filled his heart.

"Of course not!" Risiko's dad pointed to the Vulpix in his son's arms. "I want you to go out and see how great and fulfilling pokémon training can be. Once you experience that, you'll put all this novel writing nonsense behind you."

Risiko placed the fox-like creature on the wooden floor softly before making his leave without so much as a farewell wave to his father. After his father's attempt at encouraging him to leave the city, he had no intention of ever leaving it. Rebelling may have been childish at Risiko's age, but it certainly felt appropriate at this point.

The heat of aggravation plagued Risiko as he walked through the grass of the small city. There was one place he was certain to be surrounded by people who understood him, and that place could never be home with his parents. The Dance Hall was Risiko's destination.

The small Dance Hall was home to the five Kimono Sisters. The Kimono sisters had been training their pokémon there since before Risiko was born. Zuki now had a sixteen-year-old daughter who seemed to be following in her mother's footsteps.

Shiki (Zuki's daughter) was training an Umbreon, just as her mother always had. She did not yet possess the same skill as her mother, but Shiki was determined to one day surpass her teacher. The girl had always worn a dark kimono to match the color of her pokémon. The Eevee-evolved pokémon loved his trainer; he had to in order to become what he was. He was willing to work with Shiki. The bond between that trainer and her pokémon was stronger than Vulpix and Risiko could ever dream to have.

Of course, there was more to Shiki than her Umbreon. No matter how hard she trained, she always found time in her day for Risiko. She would listen for as long as Risiko could talk about the trouble he had with his parents, and Risiko was more than happy to write and keep her company while she trained with her Umbreon. The kimono girl and the gym leader's son had become close friends.

When Risiko arrived at the Dance Hall to find Shiki dressed in a sporty top and athletically fit pants, he was taken aback. Her dark hair was often pinned up elaborately in a geisha style, but on this day in hung from a loose pony tail. Her bright blue eyes were gleaming happily when Risiko walked into the Dance Hall.

"Risiko!" She greeted the short, black haired boy. The bounding motion she made when she rushed to Risiko's side again surprised him. She could never have moved that way in her elaborate kimono. "I have something for you!" she said.

Risiko now noticed that Shiki had been carrying a blue backpack. She rummaged through it now to pull out a lightly colored brown egg. The oval shape had a single jagged white line running across it. Shiki shoved the object into Risiko's arms.

"What is this all about?" Risiko asked with confusion. "I mean, it's nice to see you out of the kimono and all, but why the sudden change? And why the egg?"

Risiko's kimono friend's usually bright eyes were suddenly dim. She turned her gaze away from Risiko's and focused instead on the egg in the boy's arms. "I guess it's time you know. I'm leaving here, Risiko. I can't just stay in this town any more. I'm going on my own pokémon journey."

Risiko stared at Shiki, too dumbfounded for words. The only friend he had was about to leave him alone in this town. His confidant would soon be off making a name for herself while Risiko was left here to put up with his parents. It was not a completely unexpected announcement. He knew Shiki's dreams were too big for Ecruteak. Risiko had thought he would have at least had some time to brace himself for the news, though.

"I want you to have this egg." Shiki ran a pale hand over the oval in Risiko's arms. "When the pokémon comes out of there, you'll think of me."

"I won't need a pokémon to remind me of you," Risiko replied, but he had no intention of parting with his gift. "You want me to raise whatever comes out of here?"

Shiki nodded with a small smile. "I want the pokémon inside this egg to become really strong some day. I want us to have a battle with our really strong pokémon!"

"But I really don't like fighting…" Risiko's voice trailed off as he gave the innocent egg another glance. Developing a relationship with a pokémon soon after its hatching was suddenly appealing. Perhaps he would like raising this creature, even if he never used it to fight. He held the egg close to his body carefully as he said, "But I would like to take care of this pokémon, especially if it'll make you happy."

"It would." The enthusiasm returned to Shiki's vibrant face as she flashed a genuine smile at Risiko. "You don't have to fight with him, just treat him with care."

"I will… I promise." Risiko stroked the egg gently to reiterate his point. "But wait, how do you know it'll be a boy?"

Shiki gave a shrug. "Most of that type of pokémon is male, that's all. Call it intuition, who knows?"

"You won't tell me what kind of pokémon is inside, huh?" Disappointment must have been evident on Risiko's features because Shiki gave a small giggle.

"That would ruin the surprise!" Her tone became contemplating. "But it shouldn't bee _that_ hard to figure out."

"I'm patient," Risiko replied. "I'll wait for the little pokémon to show me himself."

A tall, dark pokémon rubbed his head against Shiki's leg. His deep red eyes searched her expression impatiently. "Okay Umbreon, you're right." Risiko's kimono friend gave a sigh and stroked her dark partner's head. "It's time for me to go while it's still light out."

"I understand…" The softness of Risiko's voice returned as he thought of Shiki leaving.

"I expect to see you out on the road soon," Shiki commanded. Risiko could not help but smile at the high pitch of her voice in such a commanding tone. "I want you and that hatchling to catch up to me and Umbreon, okay?"

"I'll try." Risiko gave Shiki a half-hearted smile as he followed her out of the Dance Hall. "Be careful."

"I'd rather have fun." Shiki stuck her tongue out at Risiko in a teasing gesture. "How about you be careful for me?"

Risiko chuckled slightly, though there was a weight on his chest. Parting was not going to be easy for the gym leader's son. He mustered all the strength within himself to say, "I'll do my best" convincingly.

"As will I." Shiki gave Risiko one last fare-well grin before disappearing into the tall grasses of Route 38 with her Umbreon.

With the new egg in hand, Risiko began walking back to his family's house, prepared to accept whatever snide comments that would come his way for accepting the new pokémon egg.


	2. Reconcile

**Chapter Two: Reconcile**

Doubt entered Risiko's mind as he neared the wooden steps of his house. He looked to the egg in his arms, anxiety evident in his grey eyes. A thousand different ways to explain the situation entered his mind, but no way seemed to be satisfactory enough.

Risiko considered hiding the egg from his parents, but immediately dismissed the idea. The boy never felt right about behaving dishonestly. He knew if he tried to cover up the situation, his poor acting skills were more than likely to make the situation worse.

_Well, I am eighteen_, Risiko thought to himself._ Leaving the house is always an option._ As much as he dreaded the thought, he found it a much more suitable possibility than leaving the egg, the only parting gift he received from his long time friend.

Tension tightened every muscle in Risiko's body as he entered his family's small house. His mother was drinking tea at the table, while his father was no where to be seen. Risiko visibly stiffened as his mother's emerald green eyes set on him before settling on the egg in his arms.

"Is that a pokémon egg?" His mother asked.

"It, um, you see," Risiko stammered, again searching for the best possible explanation. "It was, uh, it was a gift."

"A gift, was it?" His mother turned her stern gaze back to the tea cup in her hands. "A gift like your Vulpix was a gift?"

The small fox pokémon trotted over to Risiko's mother when she heard her name. Her soft brown eyes beheld an innocent gaze when they turned to Risiko. The boy felt guilt stab at him within his chest when the pokémon did this. The pain in the little fox creature's eyes caused the boy to mutter a small apology. He said, "I've never thought of it that way before. I'm so sorry, Vulpix."

"Sorry enough to finally accept her?" The stern emerald gaze was now set on Risiko. "She's been waiting for you, you know."

"I just…" Risiko sank to his knees and held his hand out to Vulpix. "I'm so sorry," Risiko said again, this time much clearer. "Vulpix, would you… Would you like to be my partner?"

The small fire pokémon stared at Risiko in disbelief. She trotted over to Risiko's mother and sat by the small wooden chair. Vulpix looked up to Risiko's mother with adoration, but when the fox pokémon's soft eyes settled on Risiko, there was a distinct distrust within them.

"She is registered as my pokémon, now." Risiko's mother explained. "She was the product of my Ninetails, after all. As a trainer, you're much to inexperienced to handle her right now. I would have to trade her to you, for one thing, and traded pokémon are quick to take advantage of a young trainer. Besides, from the way to hold that egg of yours, I doubt that you would be interested in trading it."

Acting on instinct, Risiko turned away from his mother with egg, protecting it. He had not had the egg long, but already he felt a connection to it. It was his link to Shiki, and he had made a promise to raise the pokémon inside to the best of his ability. His unwillingness to give up the egg was more than obvious to his mother, who gave a disappointed sigh.

"Risiko, it is no longer my intention to give you Vulpix," his mother confessed. "I wanted to see you and Vulpix grow strong together at first, but it's obvious to me now that you are simply not like your father and I. But that does not mean that you can't learn from this. Vulpix had been expecting to be your partner for a very long time. Eventually, she simply gave up on you and committed to training with me. You neglected her, Risiko, and now she is hurt when she looks at you. Learn from this."

Risiko's uneasy grey gaze set on the egg he held, his heart sinking further into his chest with his mother's every word. He gave a solemn nod as he gently held the egg.

Another sign escaped Risiko's mother. She said, "So you _are_ learning. Good. Now perhaps you'll know what it means to raise a pokémon. For the sake of that creature inside that egg, please don't make the same mistake twice."

"I won't, mom," Risiko promised as he patted the egg affectionately. He shot a pained glance in the direction of the small fox pokémon and thought; _I won't ever make anyone or anything feel that way. Never again._

"Go on, now," Risiko's mother waved the boy away. "Your father will be in soon. I can't be sure how he'll react, you know how he is. Keep the egg out of sight until I think of a way to break this to him."

Risiko nodded and walked down a narrow hallway to his bedroom. He stepped into the small room as his mother called out, "Don't close the door on Vulpix."

The thin boy looked down to see the small fire pokémon trailing behind him. She stopped as he turned around, keeping a distance of four paces behind him.

Risiko smiled at the small creature. "Want to come in with me?" he asked her.

Vulpix looked to Risiko with caution. She quickly ran passed him and into the small room, avoiding close proximity with the boy as much as possible.

Risiko sighed. "Are you sure you'll be comfortable in here?" he asked the pokémon. "I'm going to shut the door…"

Vulpix sat in the center of the room and simply stared at Risiko. He took her silence as consent, and gently pushed the door closed behind him with his free hand.

The room that they two now occupied seemed to be completely empty, save for the mattress to the far right corner of the room and desk. It was fitted with grey sheets and rested on the floor, rather than on a box spring. The desk opposite the mattress was overflowing with pages of noted Risiko had taken on his story ideas. He felt the need to organize them whenever he saw them, but this idea would never go too far. Instead, he would glace at the notes, become absorbed in them and begin writing again.

Risiko avoided this at the moment and sat down on his mattress. Vulpix had not moved from the center of the room, and was now eyeing Risiko with caution.

"You have every right to dislike me," Risiko confessed to the pokémon. "I completely ignored you, even though you were bred specifically for me. I had thought that my parents were simply pushing you on me, wanting me to train you so I could be like them. I associated you with their goals for me without even considering your feelings. I'm so sorry."

The gaze in Vulpix's eyes seemed to change then. She had known the boy to be a gentle soul; she knew he would never harm her intentionally. As unintentional as the cause of the pain was, she was still hurt by the boy. Though she had suspected his reason for ignoring her before, hearing Risiko out loud here in this room somehow eased her pain. That is not to say the pain was gone, exactly, but it did ease her disdain for him. She bowed her head in acceptance of the boy's apology.

"You forgive me?" Risiko asked, his hand outstretched in a peaceful gesture.

The Vulpix nodded, but did not come to the boy. The gaze in her eyes was much lighter now, relieved. She gave a small yelp as if to say, "Yes, I forgive you" and walked over to the door.

Risiko gave an understanding nod and walked to the door. The fox pokémon still eyed him cautiously as he drew near to her, but she did not dart away as she had before. She trotted out the door at a quick pace as it opened, but looked back to Risiko reassuringly. She nodded, as if to say, "Don't worry, I don't hate you," and walked off to sit beside Risiko's mother once more.

Risiko closed the door after the fox pokémon. His mind was fogged as he walked back to his desk. He thought of Shiki and already he felt as if she had taken a piece of him with her on her journey. He thought of his father and the pressure that came with thinking of him. And of course he thought of the egg that lay on the modest mattress.

Risiko scooped the egg off of the mattress. The fragile egg was placed securely in his lap as he shifted through the papers on his desk. He smiled slightly as he came across one particular story idea.

The main character of the story had been Shiki's Umbreon. In the fantasy realm Risiko had created, the Umbreon (as well as all the pokémon in the fantasy world) had been born with wings, regardless of their actual type. The wings would change color in Risiko's story. Had the pokémon been good and innocent, its wings would remain pure and white. Had the pokémon been evil, the white feathers would molt and become replaced with bright red feathers.

The idea mulled over in Risiko's mind for a moment before he picked up a mechanical pencil and began to write again. Hours began to pass without him noticing, the egg safely absorbing his warmth all the while.

***

Risiko's concentration did not break until the sound of the front door bursting open caught his attention. This was a typical entrance for his energetic father, but the noisiness of it was not something Risiko had ever gotten used to. The thin boy carried the egg with him as he tip-toed to his door and very slightly cracked it open.

Through the crack Risiko could see his father's bright red hair very clearly, but nothing else. What he saw did not matter then. What was important to Risiko is what he heard.

"The girl next door started her journey today," Risiko's mother said. The sound of tea pouring into a cup reached Risiko's ears.

"No kidding?" Risiko's father replied. "And here I though she'd stay in that Dance Hall forever! You know, like her mother."

"It seems that children don't take after their parents these days," Risiko's mother said. More tea pouring was heard between the bits of conversation.

"I'll say!" Risiko's father paused to slurp his tea. "Thanks for the tea, hun. So, how'd Risiko take it?"

"I couldn't really tell. He's always so quiet, I can never be sure of what's on his mind."

"Yeah. Takes after his mother."

"Is that so?"

"Just kidding, honey!"

"Hm. Well, you should know; Shiki left Risiko a gift. More tea, dear?"

"Please!"

Again, tea was poured to drown out the silence.

Risiko's mother continued. "She left Risiko a pokémon egg."

"Uh-huh," Risiko's father said as the conversation elapsed into silence. He seemed to be deep in thought.

"You should go congratulate him," Risiko's mother suggested. "He will begin to raise a pokémon once it hatches."

"Well, let's have a look."

Heavy sneakers thudded against the wooden floor. Risiko quickly sat down at his desk, with the egg again in his lap, before his father opened the door.

"Hey there, son," Risiko's father said, his voice strangely calm. "Mind if I check out your parting gift, there?" He pointed to the egg in Risiko's lap.

"Uh, sure, of course." Risiko held the warm, brown egg out to his father.

"I see," Risiko's father inspected the egg, turning it over gently in his hands. "Any idea what's going to come out of it?"

"I'm really not sure," Risiko admitted with a slight blush. "Shiki made it sound as if it would be obvious to me, but I honestly can't tell."

"Then I won't ruin the surprise for you," Risiko's father smiled broadly as he handed the egg back to his son. "This is a good thing, boy. You're finally going to take some responsibility in your life. Raising a pokmeon will be good for ya."

Risiko nodded and smiled back at his father, "You mean you don't mind that I might not be raising a fire type pokémon?"

"I didn't say that," Risiko's father replied quickly. Pain flashed in his dark blue eyes when Risiko's smile fell. He continued, "But we'll see. For now, I'm just glad to see you've taken a step forward. Just don't get any crazy ideas about running away from home, now."

Risiko grimaced at his father's words. He knew full well what the fire pokémon trainer had been referring to. Risiko's younger brother had also resisted fire pokémon training, insisting on becoming a Pokémon Breeder instead. The young boy felt compelled to escape from his parent's iron will. No one in Risiko's family had heard from the younger brother in over a year. The topic was hardly ever broached in conversation, and when it was the conversation was quick to end.

"I'll let you know if I decide to start my own journey," Risiko promised. He wanted to ask his father about his brother, but instead allowed the conversation to end.

"Mom's making dinner," Risiko's father said as he exited the room.

Risiko sighed as he thought of his brother. _Mom and Dad may have disowned you for following your dreams, but I never will, Urban,_ Risiko thought quietly to himself. _In fact, I respect you for it._

All of Risiko's will seemed to have been lost in that moment. He dragged himself over to his mattress and pulled his egg close to him. Images of his brother and Shiki swirled in his mind as he closed his eyes, dinner completely absent from his mind.


End file.
